Code of Ethics - Nursing

March 13, 2013 The call bells are ringing, the doctor is asking for laboratory results, and the patient is complaining of chest pain; all these are happening at the same time and handled by a single person—the nurse. In today’s society, nurses’ roles and responsibilities have drastically changed. Nurses are not only limited to a hospital setting where they are assessing patients, handing out medications or assisting doctors. Nurses are also a counselor, an agent of change and a patient’s advocate. Nurses can also be an educator in a classroom setting, during clinical practice of student nurses or through public presentations. In addition, nurses can also take up roles as part of the administration. Even though nurses’ workloads are constantly changing, they are still governed by a set of ideals and moral norms which nurses are expected to adhere to and embrace. In a nursing profession, daily decisions have real impact on other people’s lives. The responsibility of such decisions creates the need for nurses to have knowledge and skills that enable them to not only provide physical and psychological care, but also to critique and reflect on the standard of health care practices. For the nurses to do this, they must understand ethics and ways in which to utilize this knowledge in a constructive and systematic way. In doing so, they are able to deliver the care required by the profession and also expected by the society. The importance of the code of ethics for registered nurses guarantees that nurses are accountable for their actions, ethical problem are dealt with in a most appropriate way, nurses are guided about their roles and responsibilities and to ensure that highest standard of care are provided. Ethics is derived from the Greek word “ethos” that means customs, character or conduct. Ethics is a branch of philosophy that examines the difference of certain…...

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...Introduction
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Name of College
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I have one philosophy in nursing that I always follow. I care for each and every patient as if they were my own family. I want to make them feel safe and know that I am always going to fight for what is best for them. I would hope someday someone would do the same for my own family. When a difficult time is upon a family sometimes it’s hard to think clearly. I want that family to count on me to help them.
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...head: CODE OF ETHICS PAPER
Code of Ethics Paper
Kimberly Anderson
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Code of Ethics Paper
The Code of Ethics is intended to be principles to guide organization’s beliefs. These basic principles are established on matters of the organization’s mission statement, quality, and social issues. This paper will review the code of ethics for nursing. This paper will include clarity of goals, identified ethical principles, and grievance procedures. The feasibility of enforcing either part of the code or the entire code will be discussed in this paper. There may be recommendations for strengthening potential weak areas of the codes as written.
The code of ethics is a guide to follow in decision-making process when it pertains to ethical issues. According to the American Nurses Association, “The Code of Ethics for Nurses was developed as a guide for carrying out nursing responsibilities in a manner consistent with quality in nursing care and the ethical obligations of the profession (American Nurses Association, 2010).” The code has evolved over the years because of the hard work by the nurses in the past. The code of ethics provides a tool to the nursing profession.
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